Overview

Slomo Venezia was born into a poor Jewish-Italian community living in Thessaloniki, Greece. At first, the occupying Italians protected his family; but when the Germans invaded, the Venezias were deported to Auschwitz. His mother and sisters disappeared on arrival, and he learned, at first with disbelief, that they had almost certainly been gassed. Given the chance to earn a little extra bread, he agreed to become a 'Sonderkommando', without realizing what this entailed. He soon found himself a member of the 'special unit' responsible for removing the corpses from the gas chambers and burning their bodies. Dispassionately, he details the grim round of daily tasks, evokes the terror inspired by the man in charge of the crematoria, 'Angel of Death' Otto Moll, and recounts the attempts made by some of the prisoners to escape, including the revolt of October 1944. It is usual to imagine that none of those who went into the gas chambers at Auschwitz ever emerged to tell their tale--but, as a member of a 'Sonderkommando', Shlomo Venezia was given this horrific privilege. He knew that, having witnessed the unspeakable, he in turn would probably be eliminated by the SS in case he ever told his tale. He survived: this is his story.

Full Product Details

9798212251020

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

"Shlomo Venezia was a Sonderkommando in Auschwitz. Peter Noble is an Audie Award-winning narrator who has recorded hundreds of audiobooks and audio dramas, including the 2021 Booker Prize winner, as well as Audible and New York Times bestsellers. Peter is a brain injury survivor, and has a unique understanding of the music of language. He was born in South Africa, in a valley Alan Paton called ""lovely beyond any singing of it."" He grew up traveling and studied music and drama at the University of Cape Town. In South Africa, Peter worked in the theater, touring the country with a small repertory company, as well as appearing on radio, TV, and film. Peter moved to London to study classical acting at LAMDA. He went on to train as a singer at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was part of the second graduating cohort of the legendary RAM Musical Theatre program. He also has an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. He lives just outside of London, in Hertfordshire."

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available